


Gimme the Tee

by soundsaboutright



Series: it eats insects [5]
Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26066167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soundsaboutright/pseuds/soundsaboutright
Summary: Some dialogues that need to happen. Set after Cool Boy, won't probably make much sense without it. After a leisurely breakfast, probably.Knock knock who's there?
Relationships: King/Ram (My Engineer)
Series: it eats insects [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820554
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	Gimme the Tee

**Author's Note:**

> I am a tiny, tiny bit sorry about that terrible title. Not enough to not keep it though.

The knock on the door startles King out of his favorite routine. Three urgent raps of knuckles against wood, and some crumbs of soil spilled onto the floor.

He’s been deep into a contented buzz of mindless concentration, murmuring playful nothings and letting his hands and senses do the work, completing his round of checking up on his plants after breakfast. He tends to get a tiny bit lost in it, maybe. Especially when he feels as light as he does today.

When the knock is repeated, although with some hesitance, King brushes his hands off on his pants, and goes to answer.

Finding himself face to face with Tee's raised eyebrows.

“Hello and good morning, most esteemed project assistant!”

There’s a cupholder with two steaming hot drinks in his hand, and a laptop clutched under his other arm. King’s eyes barely have time to narrow.

“Soooo, about our talking over the school paper’s blog article? On our reforestation charity project? And you helping me choose pictures and edit some paragraphs, would now be a good time? I thought it would be quicker in person.”

King’s eyes definitely do narrow then: “Our what? I didn’t know there was an OUR-anything?”

“Oh, I… texted you? Did you not see? Is now not good? I was on my way to the shops, so I thought I’d take a chance.”

King opens his mouth to say something, but his attention is drawn to the click of a door, and then Ram appears out of the bedroom, one headphone already in ear:

“I’ll be back with the dogs around three, text me if I should pick up any- P’Tee.” He stops short. King’s heartbeat stumbles and quickens.

Because. _Oh_.

There is that comical moment of them all blinking at each other. In silence. The one that's more than just the absence of sounds.

Then something well-meaning inside King decides that this is rather ridiculous, and he brushes over it, as light in tone as he dares:

“Okay, Ai’Ning, see you later then.”

Ram turns big eyes on him, wide and a tad anxious: _Will you be alright?_

And it makes King want to laugh somehow, but also? His throat and chest feel kind of tight.

He manages a smile, possibly even a confident and soothing one.

Ram looks at Tee once again, who wiggles the fingers of the arm holding the laptop in an awkward wave.

Ram nods and slips out of the door next to Tee. Maybe King imagines it but his leaving steps _do_ sound rather hurried.

King heaves a sigh, only partly for show:

“Well, dearest friend Tee, do come on in then.”

* * *

Tee sets the drinks on the counter and King waits. Ignores the slow waves of panic that want to take hold, berating himself because what is there to fear? This is _Tee_.

Tee, who sets up the tablet, turning it on and tapping on the display. But he is biting his lips continuously; so King just waits for it.

“So. You two live together? “

There. No denying it now, really. But why does it feel like he’s supposed to guard secrets that are not only his own?

“He needed a place to stay.” No going wrong with a part of the truth though, is there? Still. The knot at the base of his tongue feels thicker, letting through less air.

Because how official are they? And is Ram out? And _why the heck didn’t they talk about this_?

Tee’s voice cuts in casual but curious: “I thought he had his own room, over with…”

“It’s family stuff. He needed a place to stay.”

“Okay!” Tee raises hands in an apologetic way and King thinks the echo of his own tone in his ear _does_ ring rather uncharacteristically clipped.

The article draft is pulled onto the sceen, and King starts skimming over the lines of text, not really absorbing much.

“So… you guys are okay?”

It takes King aback.

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well, there _have_ been some tensions the last night at camp after our drinking game, and I just wondered…” King feels Tee’s eyes on him from the side. Then Tee coughs.

“Also there have been some ‘incident reports’ about late night yelling from an undiscerned tent…”

Heat shoots up to King’s neck and Tee throws up his hands: “Without too many specifics, of course."

King takes a moment to soak in his shame.

“Yeah, we are okay. Sorry about that.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay.”

Tee’s eyes still stay on the profile of King’s face, so he taps onto the screen, directing Tee’s attention there:

“I wouldn’t use _that_ picture here, have you seen the ones P’Thara sent? There are some among them that fit better, I am sure he’ll let you use them.”

“Oh. I see, I’ll ask him!” For the moment, Tee complies.

King takes a breath and forces his concentration on the text written, clicking the editor to remove some typos.

“So, Ram is bringing his dogs here? I thought you said some time that you didn’t like dogs?”

King deflates. His thoughts feel like they’re in knots: “It’s not like I don’t like them, they just make me feel uneasy.”

“But you let them stay in your apartment?”

“Once you get to know them it’s easier to get used to them…”

“Still…”

“What’s your point?” King’s tone might be a tiny bit overly nonchalant again. And Tee might be throwing up consoling hands once more:

“No point, really, no point at all.”

“Do you wanna do this or not?”

It annoys King that he still sounds so defensive.

“Yes! Okay, okay, no more questions.”

It annoys him even more how Tee’s voice sounds like he is suppressing laughter.

* * *

When Ram comes back, the dogs are a white grey whirl around his feet, still excited from their walk. They do look at King, tails wagging carefully, but Ram keeps them close to him on their leashes for now. They sniff around and sneeze at some plants, and they sure are the adorable sort, King thinks, all puffy and fluffy and… safely _over there_.

Ram looks at him. “You okay?”

King decides he might mean the Tee situation earlier, rather than the dogs now. Or maybe both.

He makes a gesture with his hand, from where he is sitting on the couch, tablet on his lap.

“Yes. It went fine, we sent out the finished article, he’ll link us once it’s published.”

Ram’ eyes linger for a moment, then he nods and goes to settle the dogs with food.

Once they are happily crunching and slobbering on dog dinner in their room, Ram washes his hands at the kitchen sink and comes over, and for a moment just stays, stands next to King. King looks up to him and smiles. Ram sits down.

King gets lost in his eyes, drawn in easy and so naturally, until Ram suddenly speaks:

“Duen was there. He asked… He’s planning another short get away trip over the break and he was asking if I… and you would want to join them?”

King can’t help his mind springing up questions in a million different directions at once. 

“Why would he be asking that?” He realizes how it possibly sounds, but he is genuinely curious. “I mean, I get the _you_ , but why the _you and me_?

Ram shrugs but there is a tiny _something_ in his eyes: “I guess, Bohn… well, we _have_ been spending time together. You and me, I mean.”

“Does Duen know?” It’s slipped over his lips before he can reign it in. He doesn’t want this to sound like an interrogation.

Ram looks directly at him. Though he might be squinting a bit: “About?”

King feels strangely flustered under that look: “About us, or about you…?“

“Me?”

“That you like…”

“That I am gay?”

Ram sounds settled in that. So much so that the fascination over it pulls King out of his own head for a moment.

Ram shrugs: “He might. I never explicitly told him. But then, I never told him _I am not_ , you know.”

King nods. He’s not sure he does _know_ though. There are already countless more questions on his mind, but he remembers earlier with Tee, and so he decides on this one:

“So, you and me… we just tell our friends?”

More narrowed eyes: “We don’t?”

“Don’t look at me like that, Ning, I am asking because I genuinely want to know! I am asking so that I _know_. You’re not some secret-“, _some secret affair_ his mind supplies in an echo, and he realizes why it might rub Ram wrong, so he hurries on with all the sincerity he can muster:

“It’s just that I think I am rather private about that stuff?”

“I am, too.”

It feels like a strange impasse, and it’s not like they are arguing, but King is at a loss for words for a moment.

He’s usually really good at this, but here and now he’s finding once more that it is a wholly different thing, trying to embrace and dissolve a tension when you are a party involved and invested.

But Ram stays, in that way that he just _does._ And it feels like they take in and let out the same breath. King finds he can let himself lean his own shoulder against Ram’s without hesitation or inhibition.

He sighs: “I think most of them are already convinced we are a couple.”

Ram’s voice is softly matter-of-fact. “Well, we are.”

King plays along through a smile: “Well. When you put it like _that_.”

His fingers pick a piece of dried leaf from the cuff of Ram’s sweater; touching his wrist.

“So, when they ask… I can tell them that you are my boyfriend?”

Ram turns his head to King, and it’s a long, studying look.

“Yes. Can _I_?”

There’s a flutter in King’s stomach, and he’s not quite sure if it’s a flare of nerves or metaphorical butterflies; maybe both.

“Yes.”

Ram nods and smiles.

The corners of King’s lips tick up before he can stop it:

"Will I have to go through some trials like Bohn, too? You know, to be allowed to date you?”

Ram’s face is dead-pan. “No.”

Then one eyebrow arches: “That’s it? Were you honestly afraid of _that_?”

King sinks deeper into the backrest, flustered. “No. It’s not… no. I wasn’t afraid. It’s just new to me, is all.”

Ram scoots a little bit lower on the couch, too, until he’s at eye level with King, leaning his forehead against King’s so that King can _feel_ him nod.

“New to me, too.”

* * *

Later in bed, when they are lying face to face, King finds once more that looking at Ram until his lids grow heavy is the most potent source of peace, without the feeling of wonder and awe ever lessening.

“So who else knows? Your family? Ruj?”

Ram half-shrugs, half-yawns: “I think he might.”

He shifts and puts his arm up and King follows the invitation and presses his lips to Ram’s naked shoulder, before resting his head there.

“He asked me once if I liked any girl.”

King grins: “And you just stared at him?”

Ram nods, moves his head against the pillow.

“He then asked if I liked any boy.”

“And again, you just stared?”

Another nod.

“So, he probably knows.”

“Yep. He probably does.”

King smiles and watches his own fingers trace the tattoo on Ram’s chest.

“How long have _you_ known?”

It takes a moment for Ram to think about it, and King waits.

“Early on. Around 10, 11? Took more time to understand it, though.”

“Huh.”

“You?”

King blinks. “I think… I am learning, that I take time with people… have to get to know them, before attraction takes hold? I mean, I’ve always understood as a concept that guys can be fascinating and beautiful to me, too, I just assumed that’s what every open-minded person’s brain operated like?”

He knows Ram has raised his brow before he looks up to confirm. It’s not really judging, but then again, it totally is.

King laughs: “But, that’s not attraction, I guess.” He puts his lips against the skin where Ram’s shoulder meets his chest once more: “So yeah, you… kind of hit me hard.”

It’s the same with Ram’s smile; King just knows it is there, doesn’t even have to look up to check. He feels it.

“God, I am kind of terrified to have Kamfah find out.”

Ram tenses beneath King, and he has to hold back a giggle.

He starts drawing soothing circles into Ram’s skin again, and amends:

“A bit excited though, too. But mostly terrified. We’ll be invited to lunch every weekend.”

The both stare up at the ceiling imagining for a moment.

King breaks first:

“You think we can keep it a secret in front of her for a bit longer?”

There’s a snort that might be a laugh, as Ram pulls King close:

“We can try.”

**Author's Note:**

> always want to hear what you think! <3
> 
> sorry this took forever... I got distracted buying plants and making little plant terrariums, me, who never even really owned plants, now my apartment is a tiny jungle. Oh, who to blame? Does anyone come to mind?  
> PS: I am loving it.


End file.
